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North Carolina Zoo
The North Carolina Zoo is located on 2,600 wooded acres centrally located in the heart of North Carolina, just south of Asheboro in Randolph County. With 500 developed acres, it is the world's largest natural habitat zoo and one of two state-supported zoos. The North Carolina Zoo is an agency of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.3 The North Carolina Zoo grew from an idea initiated by the Raleigh Jaycees in 1967. The Zoo is 75 miles west of Raleigh, 25 miles south of Greensboro and 75 miles northeast of Charlotte. The NC Zoo has more than 1,800 animals from more than 250 species primarily representing Africa and North America. The zoo is open 363 days a year (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas) and receives more than 860,000 visitors annually. The North Carolina Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. History In 1967, the North Carolina legislature created the NC Zoological Garden Study Commission to examine the feasibility of a state zoo. The nine-member commission found that a zoo was both feasible and desirable. The next year, the North Carolina Zoological Society was formed with the goal of raising funds and public support for the zoo project. The same year, the legislature created the NC Zoological Authority to oversee the project. The site in Randolph County was selected from 6 sites after a 2-year search by the zoo commission, led by State Representative Archie McMillan of Wake County. After the selection of the site, its 1,371 acres (5.55 km2) were donated to the state. A $2 million bond was passed and Governor Robert W. Scott dedicated the site in spring 1972. Construction of the North Carolina Zoo began in 1974 with the official opening date of August 13, 1976. The first animals, two Galapagos tortoises arrived in 1973 and an interim zoo was opened in 1974. The ground was first broken for the Africa region in the spring of 1976, and the grand opening of the original five habitats took place in the summer of 1980. Today, it’s home to a multitude of habitats, including those showcasing chimpanzees, giraffes, gorillas, zebras and, elephants. In 1978, Ham the Chimp, the first hominid in outer space, was moved to the zoo from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He lived there until his death in 1983 from a heart attack. The zoo has continued to expand ever since. Throughout the 1980s, the exhibits of the Africa region opened and in 1984 the zoo received accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). In 1993, the first of the North America exhibits was completed, showcasing the animals and habitats of the Sonora Desert. The final North America exhibit opened in 1996. The Connect NC bond referendum was approved during the March 2015 primary election. Funds from the bond will be used to construct a new Asia region which could with the goal of attracting more than 1 million people a year. In addition to providing encounters with wild animals living in natural settings, the North Carolina Zoo offers down-to-earth, authentic and memorable ways for families to play and stay together. The Zoo also offers a variety of nature-based, educational programs and camps. Future plans On April 1, 2010, the zoo announced it had acquired adjacent forestland to bring the total land tract to over 2,000 acres (8.1 km2).9 The main exhibits currently occupy about 500 acres (2.0 km2). The NC Zoo was one of many state facilities to receive money from the Connect NC bond referendum, approved during the March 2015 primary election. Funds from the bond will be used to construct a new Asia-themed complex that could include tigers, rhinos, orangutans, more Asian animals, and more birds in the Aviary with the goal of attracting an additional 300,000 people a year. There are also plans for a convention center and some Marriott hotels overlooking some animal exhibits to establish the zoo as a multi-day destination. It was recently approved to receive money from the new Connect NC bond referendum, approved during the March 2015 primary election. Funds from the bond will be used to construct a new Asia-themed complex that could include tigers, rhinos, and orangutans with the goal of attracting an additional 300,000 people a year. In June 2018, the zoo announced that it is in the final planning stages for two new continents: Australia and Asia. The Zoo hopes to break ground on the additions in 2019. Asia is planned to open in 2023. But in 2020, they destroyed the under-construction Australia and Asia stage and copied the giant circular glass-dome with giant animal enclosures called Mountain Ridge and Valley, the last and fourth stage near North America, the Aviary, and Africa. Attractions The zoo is home to 1,800 animals of more than 200 species. It is home to the largest troop of chimpanzees of any zoo in America as well as the largest collection of Alaskan seabirds in the country. The zoo is also one of only a few AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) in the U.S. with a breeding pair of polar bears which is part of the Species Survival Plan. As of 2019, the pair have yet to produce any offspring. Layout The North Carolina Zoo consists of two main areas: "Africa" and "North America" on opposite ends. There are parking lots located on both ends, so during peak season, visitors can start their day from either side. With approximately five miles of walking paths, the zoo also provides trams and air-conditioned buses for visitors. The North Carolina Zoo was the first American zoo to incorporate the "natural habitat" philosophy – presenting animals together with plants in exhibits that resemble the habitats in which they would be found in the wild. Most animals are kept in large expanses of land, which reduces many of the behavior problems that can be caused by close confinement. The 37-acre (150,000 m2) African Plains exhibit alone is as large as many entire zoos. North America In the North American half, the swamps of the southeast are to be seen in "Cypress Swamp" area, home to alligators, cougars, Brazilian teals, Muscovy ducks, Great egrets, bald eagles, Brazilian mergansers, Great blue herons, and a variety of reptiles, American crows, and amphibians. "Rocky Coast" depicts the rocky coasts of the Pacific Northwest, with peregrine falcons, polar bears, Commerson's dolphins, macaroni penguins, gentoo penguins, Adélie penguins, rockhopper penguins, walruses, California sea lions, harbor seals, Arctic foxes, common murres, pigeon guillemots, and more Alaskan seabirds. The streams of North Carolina can be seen in the "Streamside" exhibit with Bobcats, river otters, and a number of snakes and fish, including the critically endangered Cape Fear shiner. The "Prairie" enclosure shows off the animals including bison, carabaos, African buffalo, water buffalo, muskoxen, caribou, moose, red deer, black-tailed prairie dogs, wedge-tailed eagles, red-billed oxpeckers, yellow-billed oxpeckers, and elk of the great plains. The flora and fauna of the American Southwest are on display in the glass-domed "Sonoran Desert," which houses ocelots, quokkas, coatis, common vampire bats, and a variety of free-flight birds such as white-winged doves, Yokohama chickens, Turkey vultures, Greater roadrunners, barn owls, lesser roadrunners, African hoopoes, red-tailed hawks, Black vultures, Gila woodpeckers, Gambel's quail, and horned larks. Black bears, grizzlies and red wolves also each have their own exhibits. Africa The "Forest Edge" is a 3.5-acre (14,000 m2), lightly wooded grassland enclosure where zebras, reticulated giraffes, and common ostriches wander together. The "Watani Grasslands" mimic the great savanna of Africa and are home to black rhinos, white rhinos, African forest elephants, blue wildebeests, black wildebeests, meerkats, rock hyraxes, African bush elephants, Thomson's gazelles, gemsboks, secretary birds, saddle-billed storks, storm's storks, Somali wild horses, desert warthogs, waterbucks, sitatungas, blackbucks, blesboks, southern elands, giant elands, lowland nyalas, mountain nyalas, lesser kudu, zebus, Ankole watusi, and greater kudu. Southern red-billed hornbills, Fischer's lovebirds, spotted hyenas, striped hyenas, aardvarks, lions, western lowland gorillas, red river hogs, Hamadryas baboons, and one of the largest mandrill and olive baboon troops in the country each have their own exhibit in the African half of the zoo. Lappet-faced vultures, bateleur eagles, and Rüppell's griffon vultures can be seen in the African aviary enclosure swooping down and feast raw meat. The "Dark Forest" is a 3.5-acre (14,000 m2), lightly wooded grassland enclosure where okapis, crested porcupines, bongos, and yellow-backed duikers roam and wander around. Ring-tailed lemurs from neighboring Madagascar were added to the Africa section of the zoo in 2020 after a $100,000 refurbishment of the former patas monkey exhibit, one of the first exhibits when the zoo opened in June 1980. Aviary The R. J. Reynolds Forest Aviary recreates the hot, humid conditions of a tropical forest. It displays more than three thousand tropical plants and allows visitors to walk among 10000 species of free-flying tropical birds including, sunbitterns, Greater coucals, Bornean ground cuckoos, and Great argus pheasants on the exhibit with Green peafowl and Indian peafowl were roaming with birds. Look for Victoria crowned pigeons and Chilean flamingos as well as red-footed turtles, helmeted curassows, great curassows, razor-billed curassows, hamerkops, sunbitterns, red-eared sliders, Pesquet's parrots, marbled teals, spur-winged lapwings, masked lapwings, red-and-yellow barbets, leafcutter ants, blue morpho butterflies, eastern box turtles, blue iguanas, veiled chameleons, Fiji banded iguanas, Nicobar pigeons, sandhill cranes, harpy vultures, Philippine eagles, brown-throated sloths, eclectus parrots, Asian fairy bluebirds, lilacine amazons, hoatzins, horned guans, scarlet macaws, military macaws, hyacinth macaws, blue-throated macaws, Lear's macaws, great green macaws, red-and-green macaws, red-fronted macaws, thick-billed macaws, Agami herons, green aracaris, channel-billed toucans, red junglefowl, green junglefowl, coral-billed ground cuckoos, maleos, rainbow lorikeets, sun parakeets, Indian flying foxes, shoebills, Demoiselle cranes, sarus cranes, black caracaras, northern crested caracaras, southern crested caracaras, yellow-headed caracaras, viceroies, monarch butterflies, ruby-throated hummingbirds, Anna's hummingbirds, grackles, scarlet ibises, great blue turacos, violet turacos, Ross's turacos, Spix's macaws, Guam kingfishers, Hawaiian ravens, crested partridges, Guam rails, Socorro doves, Angolan colobus monkeys, patas monkeys, eastern rosellas, Sumatran rhinos, Brazilian three-banded armadillos, giant armadillos, Southern three-banded armadillos, nine-banded armadillos, hairy armadillos, blue-and-yellow macaws, Madagascar day geckos, resplendent quetzals, golden-headed quetzals, lar gibbons, siamangs, blue-crowned hanging parrots, magpie geese, American white ibises, red-throated loons, black-throated loons, Pacific loons, common loons, yellow-billed loons, crested screamers, red grouses, white pigeons, Bali mynas, brolgas, greater yellow-headed vultures, lesser yellow-headed vultures, king vultures, long-wattled umbrellabirds, bare-necked umbrellabirds, Amazonian umbrellabirds, and yellow-footed tortoises. Since 2020, the aviary has also been home to Panamanian golden frogs, blue-legged mantellas, brown anoles, and blue poison dart frogs. The Aviary was listed among the bird exhibits in the US by USA Today. Mountain Ridge and Valley The Mountain Ridge and Valley glass dome aviary and aquarium recreates the hot and cold, humid conditions of a tropical forest, river, beach, ocean, valley, ridge, and a canyon. It has an aviary with plants, allows visitors to walk among birds flying around, a big waterfall, and a long Chinese skywalk where guests can see flying birds of prey. It has an escalator and a big mall so guests can walk and shop. It has a Ferris wheel and a bungee trampoline inside the mall so visitors can ride, jump, and see quail, giraffes, ground hornbills, and pheasants. It has a large and colorful oceanarium and a giant aquarium tank where guests can see tropical fish, and aquatic animals. It has a large pond so visitors can feed the fish. It has a hotel with some rainforest, beach, ocean, river, valley, ridge and canyon rooms for guests to stay. The animals roaming in the biome settings may include common hippos, pygmy hippos, dromedaries, Bactrian camels, Baird's tapirs, Malayan tapirs, umbrella herons, scarlet kingsnakes, southern cassowaries, dwarf cassowaries, northern cassowaries, Egyptian vultures, Andean condors, rhino hornbills, New Zealand kakas, keas, kakapos, Rothschild's giraffes, spangled kookaburras, king eiders, mallards, mandarin ducks, great cormorants, pelagic cormorants, marabou storks, rock ptarmigans, white-tailed ptarmigans, willow ptarmigans, naked mole-rats, California quail, Virginia quail, koalas, budgerigars, western crowned pigeons, grey go-away-birds, ocellated turkeys, bronze turkeys, black turkeys, wild turkeys, white-throated kingfishers, American mammoth jackstocks (donkeys), mules, Przewalski's horses, Cyprus donkeys, white-tailed vultures, roseate spoonbills, Bornean orangutans, yellow-billed storks, painted storks, milky storks, white storks, black-necked storks, toco toucans, keel-billed toucans, red-eyed tree frogs, American bullfrogs, golden mantellas, bonobos, chimpanzees, long-tailed glossy starlings, tawny frogmouths, golden pheasants, ring-necked pheasants, silver pheasants, Lady Amherst's pheasants, western corellas, koi, kohaku fish, great white sharks, leopard sharks, nurse sharks, zebra sharks, manta rays, spotted eagle rays, neon tetras, X-ray tetras, American white pelicans, brown pelicans, white-tailed deer, impalas, jaguars, black panthers, snow leopards, African leopards, green iguanas, Komodo dragons, blue-winged kookaburras, laughing kookaburras, Panamanian white-headed capuchins, bald uakaris, Galapagos tortoises, green sea turtles, leatherback turtles, whale sharks, humpback whales, gray whales, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, West Indian manatees, dugongs, giant anteaters, southern tamanduas, tasmanian devils, African penguins, emperor penguins, Magellanic penguins, king penguins, yellow-legged gulls, blue-footed boobies, red foxes, maned wolves, Arctic wolves, coyotes, red sea urchins, pencil urchins, Atlantic puffins, umbrella cockatoos, crested guineafowl, helmeted guineafowl, vulturine guineafowl, Grevy's zebras, nile crocodiles, Chinese alligators, gharials, Cape mountain zebras, Hartmann's mountain zebras, Alpine ibexes, Nubian ibexes, scimitar-horned oryxes, Australian brushturkeys, knobbed hornbills, congo peafowl, ospreys, Steller's sea eagles, white-backed vultures, pileated woodpeckers, ivory-billed woodpeckers, white-bellied sea eagles, Siberian cranes, red-crowned cranes, whooping cranes, white-naped cranes, grey crowned cranes, black crowned cranes, indian rhinos, Asian elephants, great hornbills, golden-breasted starlings, eastern yellow-billed hornbills, southern yellow-billed hornbills, urials, common ravens, grey herons, black-headed gulls, grey-headed gulls, giant pandas, red pandas, crested ibises, Abyssinian ground hornbills, southern ground hornbills, mute swans, black swans, black-necked swans, trumpeter swans, whooper swans, tundra swans, Canada geese, bighorn sheep, emus, red kangaroos, Himalayan vultures, bearded vultures, griffon vultures, white-headed vultures, Indian vultures, greater rheas, golden eagles, Darwin's rheas, white-rumped vultures, American flamingos, greater flamingos, yaks, tiger owls, snowy owls, Siberian tigers, Bengal tigers, cape vultures, and California condors. Art The zoo is home to a large collection of art, primarily sculpture but also murals, mosaics, and paintings. Primarily depictions of animals and their habitats, the artwork uses a variety of materials including marble, steel, bronze, fiberglass, limestone, glass, cement, and others. The zoo's art is intended to enliven and enrich the zoo experience and help fulfill its mission by "promoting individual discovery and new ways of thinking." The two largest sculptures are located at the zoo's main entrances. One, "Sum of the Parts" is a pile of large metal cubes, about a yard (1 m) on aside. Most of the cubes are shiny and depict extant species, but a few rusted cubes tumbled off to the side memorialize extinct species. The second, "The Elephant Group" depicts several large elephants in bronze and the "Peacock" depicts an Indian blue peacock displaying in concrete. Category:Locations Category:Zoos and Aquariums